Potentially prejudicial information

If information is identified that would be prejudicial to a positive outcome on your visa application, Immigration New Zealand must write to you and provide a reasonable opportunity for you to respond before making a decision. So, do you respond, or do you engage us to respond for you?

Potentially prejudicial information letters

Potentially prejudicial information letters are serious letters received during the processing of an application, which indicate that unless the concern of the Immigration officer is addressed adequately a decision to decline the application may (will) be made.

Receiving such a letter should be treated seriously, and if you have any doubt in relation to your ability (or your licensed immigration adviser’s ability) to address the concerns, seek professional assistance, and as early as possible. Quite often individuals address or respond to these letters in a less than satisfactorily manner believing that the letters are merely information requests, only to find in result the application is declined where, in reality, if a fully considered and detailed response was provided the result would have been otherwise.

The stakes are fairly high when you receive one of these letters, because they are essentially immigration New Zealand positioning itself to fairly decline your application.

We receive instructions to take over such visa applications on a regular basis, when the matter is getting a little too complex to deal with, and/or stressful. In most instances we are able to resolve these issues by either addressing the issues or formulating a different approach to secure a positive outcome. If we believe we cannot resolve the issue or there is still a chance that Immigration New Zealand will decline the application even if we take over, we will inform you of that opinion so you are in an informed position to decide what you want to do.